AIA Group Ltd Takes $617,000 Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

AIA Group Ltd bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 3,240 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $617,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 369.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 155 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Rexford Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 2,855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $588,729.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,198 shares in the company, valued at $3,133,979.58. The trade was a 15.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,558 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $1,146,115.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 67,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,841,227.62. This represents a 7.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,083 shares of company stock valued at $4,945,262. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Evercore set a $220.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.29.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $195.60 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $157.20 and a 1 year high of $213.50. The firm has a market cap of $21.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.35, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50-day moving average of $196.26 and a 200 day moving average of $187.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.57%. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.23 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 6th will be paid a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 6th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.57%.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.